Some Thoughts about Wu Jian'an

First thought: Searching for Piyingxi

When Wu Jian’an entered the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the Folk Art Program and the Art History Department were merging (now The School of Humanities), so he wavered between “going the scholarly route” and “making art” for a long time. He was much tortured by the contradiction between the two approaches – he started by wanting to paint and create works of art, but passively entered the ivory tower of academia. He could no longer research the original topic of “the transformation of traditional vocabulary” in the way he had hoped.

However, today is different from yesterday. From the division of labor, the concept of art has already started to return to the original state of self-expression, and it is no longer necessary for artists to avoid the world of words and work merely as skilled craftsmen. They can now search for the possibilities of ideology and expression in the broad realm of culture. In this view, where is the contradiction between “scholarship” and “art”?

During the three years he spent in the graduate school, Wu Jian’an never stopped improving his way of thinking, and successfully finished four field trips directly related to his research topic. He thoroughly researched the continuation and transformation of the art of piyingxi (shadow play, also known as leather-silhouette show) since the founding of the New China (i.e. since 1949), and made a preliminary compilation of his studies in the seven-volume book Searching for Piyingxi. I can say that he has created a new topic in the study of Chinese modern and contemporary culture and art, and provided a large amount of invaluable information on this topic. His master’s thesis, The Study of Red Piyingxi, was given an award as Excellent Graduation Thesis by the Academy. During this period, Wu Jian’an also became familiar with basic research methods, opened his mind and broadened his horizon, and started to form a new way of approaching cultural studies.

Wu Jian’an never stopped creating works of art. During his spare time away from “scholarship” he painted a large number of “diary-like” paintings, and created some multimedia experimental works. Although these were not homework assigned by me, they manifested his enthusiasm and skill in “using hands.” Only the paper-cuts were the assigned homework – I chose “paper-cut” because on one hand his plan of using leather as material required a certain amount of financial investment and paper-cut is close to piying in terms of the skills required; and on the other hand I felt that the process of paper-cutting requires strong self-control and would provide him a method to calm down his over-active, emotional way of thinking. During the two months of the course, Wu Jian’an used his hands as well as his brain, and thought deeply about the relationship between “tradition” and “contemporary,” the “mainstream” and “folk.” He wrote two essays based on his thoughts on the cultural status of contemporary art creation

Sketches, oil paintings, and sculptures are the results of Wu Jian’an’s expression of his feelings, so they can be seen as an effective addition to his scholarly texts – isn’t this the status of art creation in culture?

On April 15, 2005, Wu Jian’an held his solo exhibition at the Oil Painting Department Gallery of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, which included some of his paper-cuts and the seven-volume Search for Piyingxi. There, I felt even more strongly that “scholarship” is a form of art in itself, and that “art” is a serious form of scholarship.

Second thought: Daydreams

Wu Jian’an’s paper-cuts use the symmetrical form of traditional folk paper-cut and the common narrative format. In these labyrinthine works, he transformed their themes so that they deal with the spiritual and psychological issues of contemporary youth. Although the vocabulary of traditional religion and fairytales permeates his paper-cuts, their major emphasis is on the world we inhabit. The sense of self and the consolation of the soul is perhaps the entire meaning of fairytales and religion.

The famous twentieth-century artist Qi Baishi once said that “those who study from me will live and those who imitate me will die.” He meant that he did not want people who study his paintings to paint like him. One reason why I am satisfied with this series of paper-cuts is the same. Wu Jian’an uses the medium of paper-cut, but there is no trace of my influence in his works. It shows that he is not someone who only imitates the outside appearance of a model. It was by complete chance that he first picked up scissors and paper, for it happened during a stifling time. In order to expel his feeling of fear, Wu Jian’an looked for some kind of companions and randomly cut a form – it made him feel safe, so he continued to cut. It is similar to deliberate daydreaming. He created these extraordinary guardians so that he could sleep in the daytime. At that time, the meaning of his paper-cuts was not that of a “work of art” that comments on society, but something useful to him. For this reason, I think self-expression and belief are even more important here. There is no need to talk about following a teacher, even less about forms.

In fact, Wu Jian’an has many strange ideas, and had a difficult time arriving at a personal style. Of course, his scholarly activities and the rational analysis of evidence have taught him to wait until hot tofu cools down – he does not want to rely on “sudden inspiration” to complete a work. So I can state that these paper-cuts are just the beginning of the career of this talented young artist. When the world is theirs, he will contribute much more.

Currently, Wu Jian’an is teaching at the Academy and organizing an Experimental Art Program with me. Several years ago, there were still many obstacles to “experimental art” in China, and quite often artists had to hide when making experimental works. But now, the highest art institution in the country has established a space for research, teaching and creation in this area – this is the “daydream” for Chinese experimental artists of yesterday, and the starting point for the dream of future Chinese artists.

I want to tell Wu Jian’an: you have boldly stepped into it. You have walked into the dream theater that is now erected in reality, and the show has just started …

Lu Shengzhong

Early spring and early winter of the yiyou year (2005)

Written separately at the Thatched Hall of the East Mound